Golden perch Macquaria ambigua are flexible spawners in the Darling River, Australia

Abstract

The role of flow and floodplains for the recruitment of fishes in the Murray‐Darling Basin, Australia, remains a contentious issue. In this context, the reproductive ecology of golden perch Macquaria ambigua, a widespread, high‐profile angling species with a propensity to produce large numbers of semi‐pelagic eggs remains to be resolved. Back‐calculation of spawning dates from otoliths of juvenile golden perch (Macquaria ambigua) collected in August and November 1997 from the Menindee Lakes on the floodplain of the Darling River, in western New South Wales, Australia, advances understanding of spawning of this species in three ways: (1) golden perch spawned at lower temperatures (≤18.8°C) than has previously been reported from the Murray‐Darling Basin; (2) golden perch in the Menindee Lakes can be derived from spawning in all seasons of the year in contrast to what is apparent in more southerly locations of the Murray‐Darling Basin; and (3) spawning can occur in the absence of floods.